How to Word Your Wedding Invitations

(And What That Really Means for Your Day)

There is a question I get asked on almost every consultation call, and it is not about paper weight or print finish. It is this: "What do we actually write on our invitations?"

It sounds simple. It is not. Because the words on your invitation can be more than just practical information. They are, together with the design, the first indication your guests have of what kind of wedding they are attending: Formal and black tie, or relaxed and barefoot in a field. Intimate and considered, or big and unapologetically celebratory.

This guide covers the most common approaches to UK wedding invitation wording - classic, modern, personal, and everything in between - with real examples you can adapt. Read it all, or skip to the section that feels most like you. There is no right or wrong answer. There is only what is right for your wedding.

What You Actually Need to Include (Before We Get Into Style)

Whatever tone you choose, your invitation needs to communicate five things clearly:

• Who is getting married

• When - the date and time of the ceremony

• Where - the ceremony venue, and the reception venue if it is different

• How to respond - RSVP instructions and a deadline

• Anything guests need to know - your wedding website, dress code, if it is on the invitation itself
  

Everything else - accommodation, travel, dietary information - belongs on a separate details card. Let the invitation breathe. It does not need to contain everything! The Main Wording Styles

1. Traditional Formal - Hosted by Parents

This is the classic format used in the UK for formal weddings, and it has barely changed in decades. The parents of the couple (or one family) are named as hosts, and the language is elevated, considered, and ceremonial.

When parents are hosting together:

Mr and Mrs William Hartley together with Mr and Mrs George Pemberton request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their children Sophie Hartley and James Pemberton on Saturday the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-six at two o'clock in the afternoon St Mary's Church, Kensington Reception to follow at The Hurlingham Club

The time is traditionally written out in words, not numerals. And the date - "the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-six" - follows the same logic. These are small details, but they matter for this level of formality. When one set of parents is hosting:

Mr and Mrs William Hartley request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Sophie Louise to James George Pemberton, son of Mr and Mrs George Pemberton on Saturday the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-six

This format is used when one family is the primary host - perhaps because the wedding is being held at their family home or estate, or simply because of how costs and planning responsibilities have been divided.

A note on divorced parents: If parents are hosting but are no longer together, their names appear on separate lines without a 'together with'. They are simply both named as hosts, and that is that. The invitation does not need to explain family arrangements.

2. Traditional Formal - Hosted by You

Many couples today are hosting and financing their wedding entirely themselves. The traditional format adjusts gracefully for this.

The honour of your presence is requestedat the marriage of Sophie Louise Hartley and James George Pemberton on Saturday the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-sixat two o'clock in the afternoon The Hurlingham Club, London

Or, with a slightly warmer feel while keeping the formality intact:

Together with their families, Sophie Hartley and James Pemberton request the pleasure of your company at their marriage on Saturday the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-six

"Request the pleasure of your company" sits one step down from "request the honour of your presence" in formality - still entirely formal, but a touch warmer. Both are correct; it depends on the feel you want.

3. Modern - Warm and Considered

This is the most popular wording choice for UK weddings right now, and it is easy to see why. It is direct, warm, and personal - without the stiffness of formal tradition or the casualness of a casual gathering.

Sophie Hartley and James Pemberton invite you to celebrate their weddingon Saturday 14th June 2026 at 2pm The Orangery, Kew Gardens Drinks reception and dinner to follow

Notice what has changed from the formal version: the date is written numerically, the time uses the 12-hour clock with "pm", and the couple host their own invitation without a formal "request the honour" phrasing. This wording is warm and clear without trying to be either traditional or deliberately playful.

A variation that acknowledges families without naming them:

Together with their families, Sophie and James joyfully invite you to their wedding on Saturday 14th June 2026 at The Orangery, Kew Gardens, from 2pm Dinner and dancing to follow

This is particularly useful when multiple families are contributing - step-parents, divorced parents, blended families - and naming everyone individually on the invitation would either be complex or feel unnatural. "Together with their families" is inclusive without being specific, and most guests read it warmly.

4. Casual and Personal - For Relaxed Celebrations

If your wedding is in a pub garden, a festival field, a warehouse, or a family house (or simply if very formal language would feel odd coming from you), casual wording is not just acceptable, it is the right choice! I always feel like the thing you MUST do is to keep it authentic: wording that sounds like it actually came from the two people getting married.

Please join us as we get married Sophie and James Saturday 14th June 2026, 2pm The Bell at Skenfrith, Monmouthshire Dinner and drinks afterwards - we'd love to celebrate with you

Or more playfully:

We're getting married, and we want you there Sophie & James 14th June 2026 | 2pm The Bell at Skenfrith Come hungry. Come dancing. Come as you are.

The rule of thumb here: if you would feel slightly embarrassed handing this invitation to your closest friends because the language feels too stiff, the language is too stiff. Your invitation should make your guests smile. Casual wording does not mean unclear. The date, time, and venue still need to be immediately obvious. Being relaxed does not mean being vague.

5. The Story-Led Opening Line

One of my favourite approaches — and one that is genuinely unique to your relationship — is opening the invitation with a line that says something about how you got here.

It started with one conversation that went on all night. Now we'd like you to come to our wedding. Sophie & James 14th June 2026 2pm | The Bell at Skenfrith

Or:

First came friendship. Then came love. Now comes forever. Please join us as we say 'I do.' Sophie & James 14th June 2026 2pm | The Bell at Skenfrith

This style works best when the opening line is genuinely true to your story - not borrowed from someone else's invitation or a wording template. The more specific it is, the more it lands.

6. Together With Their Families - The Collaborative Approach

There is a format that sits beautifully between "parents hosting" and "couple hosting", and it is one I recommend often. It names the couple as the hosts while acknowledging the contribution of everyone who has helped make the wedding possible.

Together with their families, Sophie Hartley & James Pemberton request the pleasure of your company at their wedding on Saturday 14th June 2026 2pm | The Bell at Skenfrith

This works especially well for:

• Couples whose parents are contributing financially but who are making all the decisions themselves

• Families with complex structures, where listing everyone individually would be unwieldy

• Couples who simply want to honour their families without making the invitation feel like it belongs to someone else's generation
  

7. Religious and Blessing Ceremonies

If your ceremony includes a religious service or a blessing, the wording often reflects that:

With the blessing of their families, Sophie Hartley and James Pemberton joyfully invite you to witness their marriage and the blessing of their union on Saturday 14th June 2026 at 2pm St Mary's Church, Kensington Reception to follow at The Hurlingham Club

For a church wedding where the religious element is important to both families, this version acknowledges the sacred nature of the ceremony without the severity of purely traditional wording.

A Word on Dates, Times, and What Counts as Correct

There is no universal rule. For formal invitations, writing out the date in full ("Saturday the fourteenth of June, two thousand and twenty-six") is traditional and correct. For modern and casual invitations, numerals ("Saturday 14th June 2026" or "14.06.26") are perfectly fine - and often cleaner.

The same applies to time. "Two o'clock in the afternoon" reads beautifully on a formal invitation. "2pm" works everywhere else. What matters is consistency: don't mix "the fourteenth of June" with "2pm" - they pull in different directions stylistically.

What About Same-Sex Couples?

Exactly the same principles apply! The structure of the invitation - who hosts, how the names are arranged, what level of formality you choose - is completely unaffected by the genders of the couple. The language is neutral and always has been. "The marriage of" works for everyone!

A Note on What to Put in the Invitation vs. What Goes Elsewhere

A question I hear constantly: "Can we put the dress code on the invitation?"

Sure - briefly, and at the bottom. "Black tie" or "Smart/casual" in small text at the lower right corner of the invitation is traditional and correct. A full explanation of what that means ("ladies, please wear flat shoes as the ceremony will happen over grass/sand/gravel") belongs on the details card, or your wedding website.

The same logic applies to RSVP instructions: the deadline and method (website, email, reply card) go on the invitation or the RSVP card. The logistics of your dietary question and your full guest management system do not.

One well-designed invitation. One well-designed details card. That is the stationery suite doing its job!

The Honest Answer

The wording on your invitation should sound like you - or like the most considered, intentional version of you. If formal language feels natural, embrace it fully and do it properly. If it feels borrowed from someone else's wedding, don't use it!

Your guests will receive this piece of paper months before your wedding. They will hold it, read it, probably put it on their fridge or their desk. It is the first thing that makes your wedding real to them.

Make it worth holding.